Ravens quest for record 11th-straight Final Four and sixth National Title begins Saturday

RINDGE, N.H. (November 15, 2002) - The Franklin Pierce women's soccer team, ranked No. 4 in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, will host No. 12-ranked Merrimack College for the 2002 NCAA Division II New England Regional Championship on Saturday, November 16, on Crystal Field at 1 p.m.

Admission to the match is $5 for adults, $3 for students and $1 for children age 12 and under.

Franklin Pierce (16-0-2) is making its 11th-straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearance and looks to advance to a Division II record 11th-straight Final Four and a possible record sixth National Championship. Merrimack (15-6-1) is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and reached the regional final with a 2-0 win over No. 24 College of Saint Rose in an NCAA first round match on Wednesday.

Saturday will mark the second-straight year the Ravens and Warriors have played three times in a season. Franklin Pierce won all three encounters last season, including a 2-1 overtime decision at Crystal Field in the New England Regional title match. This fall, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw in Rindge, with Franklin Pierce needing a goal in the 73rd minute to equalize the match. The Ravens claimed a 2-1 victory in the Northeast-10 Tournament Championship match two weeks ago.

Saturday's match will be the 22nd all-time between the two programs, the fourth in NCAA Tournament play. Franklin Pierce holds an 18-2-1 advantage in the all-time series having won all four of its previous meetings with Merrimack in the NCAA Tournament.

Crystal Field has not been a kind place for Franklin Pierce opponents in NCAA Tournament history. The Ravens are 12-0 at home in Tournament action, outscoring the opposition by a combined 58-5 clip.

The Ravens will have had two weeks since their last match when they take the field on Saturday afternoon. Franklin Pierce claimed its third-straight Northeast-10 Conference Championship with its 2-1 win over Merrimack on Sunday, November 3, in Smithfield, R.I. The Ravens also claimed its second NE-10 regular season title and eighth such Conference title over the last nine seasons with a 12-0-2 NE-10 record this fall.

The Ravens are led by a stout defensive unit, anchored by senior tri-captain Nicole Cheadle (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) who earned NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year honors. Franklin Pierce leads the NE-10 and ranks fifth nationally with a 0.38 team goals against average while posting 11 shutouts. Cheadle, a four-time All-Conference and two-time All-New England selection, earned Verizon Academic All-District honors last week and was named MVP of the NE-10 Tournament as she netted three goals, including both in the Championship match victory over Merrimack, and led a defense that allowed just one goal in three postseason games.

Sophomore Martta Makila (Vantaa, Finland), an All-NE-10 and Verizon Academic All-District pick, teams with Cheadle in the back along with juniors Alison Considine (Needham, Mass./Needham) and Alana Sullivan (Dorchester, Mass./Mitchell College). The Ravens defense has allowed just seven goals in 18 matches and opened the season with a program-record six consecutive shutouts.

The beneficiary of the strong Ravens back line is junior goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway), a transfer from Champlain College. The All-Northeast-10 selection leads the Conference and ranks eighth in Division II with a 0.42 GAA to go along with a .848 save percentage and eight shutouts. Kibsgaard's eight shutouts this season is already good for eighth on the College's career list.

Leading the Franklin Pierce offense, which leads the NE-10 and ranks 12th in Division II averaging 3.5 goals per match, is Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill). The sophomore forward leads the Conference and ranks 16th in the country with 44 points, netting an NE-10 best 19 goals (seven game-winners) to go along with six assists. Welcome showed a knack for clutch goals when she scored the game-winning goal on a 35-yard free kick in overtime in last year's regional final against Merrimack at Crystal Field.

Senior Anumari Ylesmaki (Vantaa, Finland), a two-time All-Northeast-10 selection and Verizon Academic All-District honoree, is second on the team in scoring with 27 points (10 goals, 7 assists). The 2001 NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year moved into the midfield to assist with the offensive output and has established career-best point and goal totals this fall. She currently ranks 19th in program history with 67 career points and her 27 career assists is good for 12th all-time.

Senior Andrea Caesar (Visby, Sweden), also a two-time All-Northeast-10 pick and Verizon Academic All-District selection, leads the Conference and ranks 11th nationally with 12 assists to go along with six goals for 24 points. She played a role in all three game winning goals in the Ravens march to a third-straight NE-10 Tournament title as she totaled six points with a goal and four assists in the event. Classmate Angela Verdoes (Katwijk Aan Zee, Holland), an All-America selection last fall and four-time All-Conference and three-time All-Region pick, has added 23 points (10 gls, 3 asts).

Merrimack is led offensively by a trio of sophomores in Laurie Lamoureux , Rachel Wenc and Amy Johnson. Lamoureux, an All-Northeast-10 selection this season, has totaled a team-best 33 points and 13 goals (four match-winners) to go along with seven assists. She has netted both of her team's goals in two games against Franklin Pierce this fall and had a role in both of the Warriors markers against Saint Rose on Wednesday.

Wenc and Johnson have each totaled 22 points this fall, with Wenc netting eight goals (four match-winners) and dishing six assists and Johnson dishing eight helpers and adding seven markers. Senior tri-captain Patty Cronin (Norfolk, Mass./King Phillip Regional), a Verizon Academic All-District and All-Conference honoree, has chipped in 21 points with a team-best 11 assists to go with five goals.

Senior tri-captain Annmarie Yutkins, an All-NE-10 pick, leads the Warriors defensive unit and has also dished nine assists this fall. Junior goalkeeper Erika Paiva has started the last 12 matches for Merrimack and boasts a 0.97 goals against average and .833 save percentage with five shutouts.

The winner of the New England regional final will advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals and face the winner of the NCAA Northeast Regional on Saturday or Sunday, November 23-24. No. 8 Lock Haven University (16-2-1) is the top seed in the Northeast and hosts No. 10 Adelphi University (16-1-2) on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

2002 NCAA Division II Regional Championships

FIRST ROUND
Wednesday, November 13
#2 Merrimack 2, #3 Saint Rose 0

SECOND ROUND
Saturday, November 16 (New England Regional Championship)
#2 Merrimack (15-6-1) at #1 Franklin Pierce (16-0-1), 1 p.m.

Sunday, November 17 (Northeast Regional Championship)
#2 Adelphi University (16-1-2) at #1 Lock Haven University (16-2-1), 1:30 p.m.

NCAA QUARTERFINAL
Saturday, November 23 or Sunday, November 24
Northeast Region Champion vs. New England Region Champion, Time TBA

NCAA FINAL FOUR
December 6-8, Virginia Beach Sportsplex, Virginia Beach, Va.